The exciting time of year (for some) has finally arrived and the play-offs are among us. The bottom five are left reeling on what could have been, but for Sydney, Perth, Cairns and Melbourne… the party is just about to start.
By the end of the series, the championship rings will be awarded and the ultimate glory will be realised for one club.
Brian Goorjian is the greatest coach in Australian Basketball, claiming the NBL’s biggest prize on six occasions. Perth Wildcat legend Damian Martin could pick up his sixth ring in a few weeks time, Andrew Bogut could join a rare group to have won both an NBA and NBL Championship, Miles Plumlee could achieve the ultimate success after just a few months down under.
Some are simply surrounded by success wherever they go.
However, in sport , not everyone always gets to achieve the holy grail. It is the harsh reality of the competition. Some of the best players we’ve seen play the game may achieve all the personal accolades in the world, but are not rewarded with the true success.
Here are five NBL players who have all been around the league for some time, all bringing something special to the competition for different reasons. Some have achieved individual awards, some may be the heart and soul of their club… but they all have one thing in common.
They all have empty spaces in their bedside tables where an NBL Championship ring is supposed to be.
5: Brad Newley
Newley has never obtained on overly big profile and has always been somewhat in the shadow of more heralded teammates, but has always been a solid contributor and underrated link in every team he’s been apart of.
His career best season was arguably his first season in 2005, winning Rookie of the Year as well as Best Sixth Man. Since then he has gone on to win NBL Second Team honours in 2007 and 2017 for both Townsville and Sydney.
Nearly 200 NBL games in his career, aged 35, he hasn’t had the ultimate success by way of an NBL championship ring.
This could be his final chance, Sydney enter this play-off series having led the competition from the very start. If there was ever a time Brad Newley is to be unscripted into the history books as an NBL Champion, the time is now.
4: Jason Cadee
A career best season for Cadee saw him win Best Sixth Man award, but unfortunately he will need to wait at least another year before potentially winning that elusive NBL championship.
He has played for four NBL clubs; Gold Coast, Adelaide, Sydney and now Brisbane. Some times in sport, one needs to be in the right place at the right time. For Cadee it’s been right place, wrong time.
A workhorse with a team-first attitude, Jason Cadee has played over 250 NBL games, scored over 2200 points since his debut in 2010, and has been respected wherever he has played, but he is yet to taste the ultimate success of a championship victory.
Aged 28, he still has a decent amount of time to achieve the feat. With the Bullets showing significant improvement late this season, it could be a distinct possibility in season 2020/21.
3: Tim Coenraad
One of the Illawarra Hawks favourite son’s, Coenraad has been apart of the club since 2009 and has played all of his career in Wollongong.
While he has never held superstar status and does not have any individual awards to his name, he has always been a hard working, respectable soldier of the Hawks’ lineup.
He came close to the ultimate glory on two occasions, suffering Grand Final series losses in 2010 and 2016, both to the Perth Wildcats.
With over 300 games of NBL experience, over 2000 points to his name and now on the wrong side of thirty, time is running out for the veteran.
Certainly deserving of a championship ring, but due to the recent state of the Illawarra Hawks, unfortunately, he looks unlikely to achieve it.
2: Daniel Johnson
One of the most underrated players in NBL history.
Johnson has seemingly always been in the shadow of the Andrew Bogut’s, Bryce Cotton’s, Chris Goudling’s Jerome Randle’s and Mitch Creek’s of the competition. For all the blood, sweat and tears over 300+ games in the NBL, he has been for the most part, ignored by the Boomers and has yet to taste the ultimate league success.
2013/14 and 2017/18 were his biggest opportunities, when the Adelaide 36ers were one win away from the championship on both occasions.
He has made NBL first-team on three occasions, NBL Most-improved in 2012, 36ers MVP four times and has also captained the club… but still has no ring on his finger.
1: Mitch Creek
It would be hard to find a more motivated, disciplined and hard working individual than Mitch Creek.
A young man with a dream from Horsham worked his way up the ranks, reaching the NBL and playing eight seasons at the 36ers, improving season by season until making his dream a reality, reaching the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
A return to Australia in 2019/20 saw him not only a part of the inaugural season for South East Melbourne Phoenix, but also become the clubs very first captain.
To date, he has played over 200 NBL games and won NBL second-team honors, as well as 36ers MVP in 2017/18. He too, has played in two Grand Final series.
But unfortunately, he still has 0 championships to his name.
Dan is a self-confessed Aussie hoops tragic from Adelaide, South Australia. He is a young sports broadcaster and journalist with a passion for the NBL and Australian Boomers. Also hosts his own sports podcast; Amato's 5th Quarter.
